US Patent Office Denies Nintendo’s Subcharacter Battle Patent
▼ Summary
– The USPTO has rejected Nintendo’s patent for a character summoning a sub-character in battle, citing prior art.
– Nintendo can respond to this non-final rejection within two months, with an option to extend if appealing.
– Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are suing Pocketpair, alleging Palworld infringes multiple patents, including for monster capture.
– Pocketpair has made gameplay changes, like removing a summoning feature, while disputing the patent claims in court.
– Both the USPTO and Japan’s patent office have denied Nintendo patents related to in-game capture mechanics.
A recent decision by the United States Patent and Trademark Office has dealt a setback to Nintendo’s efforts to protect a specific game mechanic. The USPTO has issued a non-final rejection of a patent application describing a system where a player character can summon a secondary character for assistance during combat. According to reports, examiners based their decision on existing prior art references, finding the concept was already disclosed in combinations of two or three earlier published patent applications. Nintendo retains the right to contest this ruling, having a standard two-month window to file a response, which can be extended if the company chooses to appeal.
This development is the latest in a series of complex intellectual property disputes involving the gaming giant. Nintendo originally filed this particular application in March 2023, receiving an initial approval in September 2025 before the office ordered a re-examination just two months later. The patent’s trajectory intersects with a broader legal conflict that began in September 2024, when Nintendo and The Pokémon Company initiated a lawsuit against developer Pocketpair in the Tokyo District Court. That action alleges that Pocketpair’s hit game Palworld infringes multiple patent rights, specifically citing mechanics related to monster capture and release and the use of creatures as mounts. In its statement, Nintendo emphasized a commitment to protecting the intellectual property it has cultivated over decades.
Pocketpair has acknowledged the lawsuit while contesting its merits. The studio stated it was not initially informed which specific patents were allegedly violated and has vowed to investigate the claims while defending itself in court. Despite the ongoing litigation, the company announced plans to bring Palworld out of early access in 2026. The legal pressure has already prompted concrete changes to the game; last May, Pocketpair altered the player gliding mechanic, and in November 2024 it removed a feature allowing players to summon creatures by throwing capture spheres. The developer framed these adjustments as difficult compromises made to ensure the game’s continued development was not disrupted by legal proceedings.
This patent rejection follows another significant ruling from the Japan Patent Office, which in October 2025 denied a separate Nintendo application for a capture-and-release mechanic. These repeated challenges from patent authorities highlight the difficulties companies face in securing exclusive rights to common gameplay concepts. For its part, Pocketpair has publicly maintained its position, stating it continues to dispute the infringement claims and asserts the invalidity of the patents in question, even as it makes operational concessions to keep its project on track.
(Source: GamesIndustry.biz)